The conventional construction of a dwelling or other building is a relatively complicated process involving a number of steps. Typically, a foundation is laid, and then floor, wall and roof framework is attached to the foundation. After this, the structure is wired and plumbed, insulation is installed, and then a wall finish is attached to the framework. Typically, panels of gypsum wallboard are attached as the interior wall finish material. Still further, the wallboard is taped, textured and painted.
The construction of closets within the structure involves many of the aforementioned steps. In addition, closet construction can be comparatively expensive due to the number of odd-sized panels which form the closets.
It is therefore desirable to provide closet structures which are premade and then delivered to a building site for easy installation during building construction, thus eliminating much of the field labor expense.
A number of prefabricated structures have been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,596 by Varlonga, pertains to a prefabricated room structure in which ceiling, sidewalls, floors and supports are fastened together for installation in a building under construction.
Prefabricated bathroom structures have been disclosed by King in U.S. Pat. No. 3,110,907; as well as by Eriksson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,323, in which the bathroom structure includes metal framework which can be repositioned after installation of the bathroom unit at the building site so as to support portions of the building.
Henson, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,772, discloses a prefabricated storage closet which is mounted within a rough opening or recess in the wall of a building under construction.
Another prefabricated room unit is disclosed by Lindingo in U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,767, in which the room unit is supported by lightweight elongated sheet metal elements of U-shaped construction.
Other prefabricated units include a bathroom unit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,712,863 by Busch, which is formed so as to engage structural support members in the building; as well as a building module which is fabricated in almost completed form at the factory in U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,528 by Heifetz et al.
Other prefabricated building materials have been disclosed by Borghi in U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,769, in which modular members are connected together in a selected manner to form walls, floors, or ceilings of a structure. In Auer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,902,328, individual sectioned members are connected together in a selected manner to form a storage cabinet.
Prefabricated structures which can be installed in a completed building include a portable bathroom which is placed adjacent to a doorway in a hospital room or the like, and which is disclosed by Simonson in U.S. Pat. No. 1,600,017. Furthermore, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,944,863 by Bertelsen, there is a closet which is pivotally mounted in a corner of a room to rotate between an open and a closed position.
Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,149,187 by Wood, there is disclosed a method of forming a wall structure made of an underlying board member and an overlying polymer composition.